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ERIC Number: EJ741398
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-May
Pages: 16
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0096-3445
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Dissociating Uncertainty Responses and Reinforcement Signals in the Comparative Study of Uncertainty Monitoring
Smith, J. David; Redford, Joshua S.; Beran, Michael J.; Washburn, David A.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, v135 n2 p282-297 May 2006
Although researchers are exploring animals' capacity for monitoring their states of uncertainty, the use of some paradigms allows the criticism that animals map avoidance responses to error-causing stimuli not because of uncertainty monitored but because of feedback signals and stimulus aversion. The authors addressed this criticism with an uncertainty-monitoring task in which participants completed blocks of trials with feedback deferred so that they could not associate reinforcement signals to particular stimuli or stimulus-response pairs. Humans and 1 of 2 monkeys were able to make cognitive, decisional uncertainty responses that were independent of feedback or reinforcement history within a task. This finding unifies the comparative literature on uncertainty monitoring. The dissociation of performance from reinforcement has theoretical implications, and the deferred-feedback technique has many applications.
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org/publications.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A